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Plant Guide # 18924 Acid Loving Plants For Pa Landscapes
By | August 19, 2008
Plant Guide #18924…. Growing Acid-Loving Plants
Growing azaleas, rhododendrons, blueberries, holly, pieris, heather, and other plants that love acidic and organics soils.
One of my fond memories of being 12 was catching my first shad. Each spring the shad migrate up the Delaware River to end their life long journey to spawn. Their migration is like clockwork, arriving exactly on time, like the swallows of Capistrano each year. In many ways so are the flowers and buds on plants. I remember my shad and the picture of this trophy. I was standing next to a large azalea in full bloom. Each year I would see the blooms on that azalea and know that as they swelled so the shad were approaching. Thus I came to associate the blooms of azaleas with it’s time to go fishing. How smart and lucky I was. For there are so many varieties and blooming times for azaleas plus some varieties have small second flushes, that I can now say with absolute certainty that, “It’s always time to go fishing”.
There are so many varieties of azaleas and rhododendrons that experts only estimate their approximate number. There are early bloomers and late season bloomers. Some with large flowers and some with small flowers. Some are scented. There is a spectrum full of colors and sizes. Some are evergreen and some deciduous. Thus azaleas and rhododendrons are shrubs for all seasons. In winter, these plants stand out with large evergreen leaves and bring showy flowers in the spring. Throughout the summer and fall the leaves add pleasing green color to the landscape. The intense flowers of azaleas and rhododendrons make them a popular selection.
If you have difficulty telling an azalea from a rhododendron, stop worrying. Call them all rhododendrons and you will be correct. If you know how to grow a rhododendron, then you can use the same cultural principles in growing blueberries, holly, pieris, heather, and other plants that love acidic and organics soils. Rhododendrons love mild humid climates. Site selection is important. Many people come to us and report that they have had little luck in planting rhododendrons and want to try again. Our suggestion is to first look at your environmental conditions and determine if you should replant. Rhododendrons are found in nature predominately on north to east slopes. Here there is less rapid temperature changes and the drying west and south winds are shielded by natural features. Always protect azaleas and rhododendrons from wind. Plant with barriers in mind. Barriers can be evergreen screens, or buildings or slopes. Evergreen screens can help highlight the blooms. Be mindful that a corner of a building may not offer protection but actually funnel winds by the plants. Rhododendrons actually like filtered light better than shade. If your site is full shade consider a pruning of the overhead trees to allow better light penetration.
The soil that you plant Rhododendrons in should have good drainage. You can run a simple test by digging a six inch hole and filling it with water. If it is not drained in 4-5 hours you need to increase the drainage of the site. Rhododendrons have very small delicate roots. If the soil drains poorly there is probably to much clay. The roots can’t penetrate heavy clays. I would suggest a raised bed or a drain tile to carry away the excess water.
It is difficult to improve poor soils to grow rhododendrons without creating other problems. Sometimes trees with surface roots rapidly take over soils that are improved and compete for nutrients. They, after all have a head start on your new plants. It may make sense to raise up a bed a whole foot. This gives improved drainage and allows the new plants more competition free time in getting established. Make sure you have an acidic soil of 5 to 5.5. If you have a large pine tree rake up its needles and use them as both a weed barrier and a pH adjuster. There is no good substitute for quality organic materials being incorporated into your soil. Clay soils are especially enhanced by organics. Lots of ground pine bark, oak and pine leaf mulches and topsoil mixed well, works much better than peat. Peat will hold water preventing oxygen from filtering to the root zone. Peat can also hold moisture for long periods in the spring and winter. The area that you prepare should be prepared weeks before you plant. This allows the pH to change.
Most of the rhododendrons and azaleas that we sell are potted. These plants should never be planted so that their stems are below what it was in the pot. Plantings should always be about 2″ above the surrounding soil. Water the plant well after planting. Native rhododendrons have very shallow surface roots and have natural mulch and organic debris covering the surface roots. This conserves moisture and minimizes winter injury. You want to mirror the natural conditions so using decomposed pine needles and oak leaves is the best mulch. A layer of two to four inches is ideal. Keep the layer of mulch away from the stem. The mulch should not be removed. It should be with the plant for all seasons. It is the plants winter blanket. It helps keep the plant from winter leaf scorch. If you want your beds to have designer colors such as red mulch black much, plastic fiber cloth, river pebbles etc., then plant some other plant, because these plants are delicate and conditions must be correct or you will have poor results. I don’t recommend any fertilizing of the plants for beginners. If you must add fertilizers make sure it is for acid loving plants.In nature these plants do well with low nutrient levels. Their small surface roots can be easily be hurt by over application of fertilizers. I would use no more than 2 pounds of a 6-10-4 per 100 square feet, but organic matter that is covering the plant should be perfect. Do not fertilize after July 1. Fertilizing after this time may force growth during the winter when the plants should be dormant. The mulch can also act a a natural weed barrier. As it decomposes add more. Fall is the optimum time to make sure you have enough mulch.
Following these recommendations will help you have success in raising these plants.
See Bill’s web site at HTTP://www.seedlingsrus.com
About the Author
Bill Has been raising and selling trees for 45 years near Doylestown Pa. and has two web sites http://www.seedlingsrus.com and http://www.zone5trees.com -
Weve all been there. Spent a lot of money to go to someplace weve never been before. Weve taken the photos and brought them home expecting family and friends to ooh and aah over the shots weve taken. You open the envelope and take out the prints and somehow the landscapes and nature shots that looked so beautiful there look flat, dull, and you dont remember seeing that couple in the corner of your shot when you snapped the shutter.
First thing that you must know is that to get really great landscape and nature shots you really need an SLR with appropriate film for the job, but these tips will help you even if you are using a point and shoot.
1. Appropriate film. I use 100, 200, and 400 speed maximum. Film brand is a matter of personal taste. I use the 100 and 200 when I know that its going to be bright out and I use 400 if I think that Im going to capture wildlife or if Im deep in the forest.
2. Natural light. I try to avoid using flash. If I do use flash I only use my fill flash. Whenever you use flash you rob the scene of most of its natural charm. Think of it how many times did you take a shot because the light was just to pretty.
3. The right lens. A slight wide angle lens in very valuable for landscapes and a slightly telephoto comes in handy for tight shots of beautiful flowers. I personally have a favorite lens 30mm-70mm that is a staple for me and I use it ninety percent of the time.
Now that the technical stuff is out of the way.
4. Decide what it is EXACTLY that you are trying to capture on film and crop accordingly. Not cropping enough is one of the biggest mistakes amateur photographers make. Great thing about landscapes is that they dont move. So to learn take a few shots cropping closer each time.
5. Occasionally turn the camera vertically. So many people dont seem to realize that they can turn their camera on to the vertical. Imagine that you trying to get this tall evergreen perched on a rock above a vista. If the camera is horizontal youll crop out the tree, if you turn the camera vertical youll get the tree and a lot of the vista too. Try this when you taking photos. Take one shot horizontal and then turn the camera vertical. Youll be surprised.
6. If youre taking a photo of a large horizon it will probably look flat on film. You need a sense of scale. So frame your image. Sometimes this can be a family member on one side of the shot, perhaps looking out into the beautiful horizon. A tree, rock, or plant can work in landscape shots just make sure that the framing item is not the focus of your shot.
This will get you started. Nature and landscape photography is a specialized area of the art but with practice you can improve your snap shots to capture some of the great places youve seen.
If you have some specific questions please visit my Photography and Design Forum at: http://kellypaalphotography.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/index.php and post your question there.
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About The Author Copyright 2005 Kelly Paal Photography Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and internationally. She owns her own business Kelly Paal Photography (www.kellypaalphotography.com). She has an educational background in photography, business, and commercial art. She enjoys applying graphic design and photography principles to her web design. kellypaa@kellypaalphotography.com  TagsTopics: yard-maintenance | CommentsYou must be logged in to post a comment. |